The facts of Iraq are not in dispute. But the truth is that facts don’t matter anyway to this administration, and that’s what makes this whole N.I.E. debate beside the point. From the start, honest information has never figured into the prosecution of this war. The White House doesn’t care about intelligence, good or bad, classified or unclassified, because it believes it knows best, regardless of what anyone else has to say. The debate over the latest N.I.E. or any yet to leak will not alter that fundamental and self-destructive operating principle. That’s the truly bad news.

Frank Rich in the NY Times, via the Wege-ster (yes Mister G, two can play that game)

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So, yes, if we leave Iraq the terrorists will clap their hands and mock us as a pathetic paper tiger. It will be a very bad situation. We will enter into an uncertain, intimidating new world. But—and here’s the crucial point—we are already plunging blindly into that world. And we’re plunging into it with one hand tied behind our backs. As the situation now stands, there can be no “victory” in Iraq. Because what kind of victory depends on a permanent occupation? What kind of victory is contingent all our various enemies deciding not to attack us anymore? What kind of victory can we muster when there’s no state left to surrender to us, no ground for us to conquer, no declarations for us to sign and yet our soldiers and their civilians still die by the dozens every day? The question shouldn’t be decided as a matter of national pride—of “sticking it out” and proving America’s greatness—the question should be decided on the basis of what’s best for our country, their country, the region and the world. We are an economic giant, a military giant, and a free society. They are crazy theocrats. We disgrace ourselves by even suggesting that we need to save face in front of such people.

Insomnia Report, “The biggest scandal of them all…”

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It seems to be a textbook case: a pedophile in a position of power exploits underage minions, while hiding behind a cloak of virtue. In fact, it seems that truth here is stranger than fiction. It would take a literary hack, many would say, to write a lurid Washington novel about a Republican chair of the Missing and Exploited Children Caucus, himself sexually propositioning underage male pages.
“What blatant hypocrisy!” come the shouts from the left and the right. “What a scumbag!” they all say.
“Above all,” come the protestations from the right, “don’t politicize this one case of sheer hypocrisy.” “This matter is beyond politics,” they say.
But it’s NOT hypocrisy. It’s PAR FOR THE COURSE. And it’s not above politics, either–because what Mark Foley has done is the perfect example of what “conservatism” is all about.
“A bold claim,” you may say. “Can you back it up, spoon?”
Yes, I can.
The fundamental difference, you see, between conservatives and liberals in the social sphere goes far beyond the petty points that make up modern politics. Abortion, gay marriage, and the rest are but stars in the overall constellation of a philosophy that rests on the difference between openness and a false sense of propriety.

thereisnospoon(via Diary Rescue at dKos)

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This weekend’s movie at Chez Tild:

NIGHT OF THE HUNTER

Part melodrama, part horror movie, part fairy tale, NIGHT OF THE HUNTER unfolds like a fever dream in an American landscape both nightmarish and magical. This almost unbearably suspenseful tale — the only solo screenplay that critic James Agee ever wrote and the only film that actor Charles Laughton (RUGGLES OF REDGAP) ever directed — is a cinematic experience unlike any other. Robert Mitchum gives his most indelible performance here as a psychotic preacher with “love” and “hate” tattooed on each of his hands. After charming a small-town widow into marrying him, he proceeds to terrorize her children in order to get hold of the money left to them by their dead father. The peerless Lillian Gish is moving and magnificent as the elderly woman who becomes the children’s physical and spiritual guardian. Photographed by Stanley Cortez (THE MAGNIFICENT AMBERSONS) with shimmering light and deep shadows that eloquently express the story’s themes of good and evil, sin and redemption, NIGHT OF THE HUNTER is a beautiful, startling, and unforgettable film.

–a review by Kryssa Schemmerling, at bn.com

 

Rev. Harry Powell (Robert Mitchum): I can hear you whisperin’ children, so I know you’re down there. I can feel myself gettin’ awful mad. I’m out of patience children. I’m coming to find you now.

Rachel Cooper (Lillian Gish): I’m a strong tree with branches for many birds. I’m good for something in this world and I know it too.

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Posted: October 1st, 2006 under Cinema, Evil made visible, General, Good vs. Evil, Politics.
Comments: none

Michael Brodkorb of MDE and other conservative henchmen stooges sycophants bloggers met with the President’s favorite turd blossom Karl Rove on Friday during the Ãœberweasel’s visit to Minnesota.
By all accounts the hourlong blogger briefing was a hot ‘n’ heavy session of high level GOP strategy. Brodkorb was heard to murmur “Pinch me! I can’t believe this is really happening. He is just so totally bitchin’!” as he crouched in passion-drenched delirium at Rove’s side.

UPDATE:

Meanwhile, Moses caught the action from a different angle…

Posted: July 22nd, 2006 under Blogistan, Evil made visible, Michael Brodkorb, Minnesota politics, National politics, Politics, Republicans, Wingnuttia.
Comments: 9